You Must Act Now!

“Will you not receive Jesus as your personal Saviour?” “Will you not forsake sin and turn to Jesus?”

says a voice to him. “No, not yet, maybe sometime in the future,” he replies. “I must make progress at my games.

I must study hard to pass the examination into secondary school.

Have me excused for now. Maybe some day in the future I shall have time.

For now, I have no time, leave me alone; by talking to me you are wasting my time.

Goodbye.”

A young man of twenty is walking along with his girl-friend.

“Will you receive Jesus as your personal Saviour?” says a voice to him.

“Will you forsake passing earthly pleasures for the permanent peace that God gives?”

“No, not yet, maybe sometime in the future,” he replies.

I must get to university, I must woo and win a beautiful girl.

I must enjoy myself – football, nightclubs, bars, beer, fine clothes, free sex, and all the other pleasures.

Have me excused for now. Maybe some day in the future I shall have time.

For now, I have no time, leave me alone; by talking to me you are wasting my time.

Goodbye.”

A young adult of thirty-three is riding a modern car.

“Will you receive Jesus as your personal Saviour?” whispers an evangelist to him.

“Will you forsake the way of sin and turn to God for pardon? Will you allow

Jesus to change your life and give you a new heart and nature?”

“No, not yet, maybe sometime in the future,” he replies.

“I must have more children. I must educate the ones I have. I must make money.

I must get to the top of my profession. Besides, it is not popular to receive Jesus. Many say it is a new religion. Others say it demands too much. Besides, I am a catholic, (protestant, pentecostal, etc.) My pastor does not agree with the preacher. I want to be safe. I am confused. I am a Rosicrucian, I am a Freemason. I belong to the learned society. Is salvation not for the poor? Does hell really exist? Leave me for now. I will think about it later on in the future when I have time. For now I have no time. Leave me alone; by talking to me you are wasting my time.

Goodbye.”

Not long afterwards the same man suddenly dies. He is sent to hell by Jesus.

The fire is burning mercilessly. Everything about him is hot.

He desires sex, but there are no women. He is thirsty, but there is no beer and no water.

His agony is on the increase day by day. He is alone, he looks around but cannot see his earthly sinful companions.

In agony he cries,

“Jesus, I now know that You died for sinners. Hell is real. I am in it. Have mercy upon me. Give me a second chance.” But the Lord replies from a distance, “Too late. You had your way in rebellion, sin and unbelief. You had your way. You had no time. It is too late now. You must continue where you are and you will be there throughout all eternity. Talk no more; you are wasting My time.

Goodbye.”

Young sinner, student sinner, working–class sinner, business person sinner, jobless sinner, successful sinner, where do you stand? Do you have time? Will you listen to the Saviour’s voice? Will you turn from your sin and rebellion? Will you give up your pride?

Will you say,

“Jesus, I have time now. I come to You now! I need You now! I will not continue in unbelief. Forgive me now”?

The offer, dear sinner, is God’s.

The choice is yours.

To choose the way of repentance is life. To choose Jesus is eternal life.

Take Jesus today and go with Him into the year 2001 and into eternal life. The choice is yours, make it. You cannot be neutral. Indecision results in death.

If you want to receive the Lord Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, follow the following four steps :

ADMIT that you are a sinner by nature and by practice, and that on your own you are without hope. Tell God that you have personally sinned against Him in your thoughts, words and actions. In a sincere prayer, confess all your sins to Him one after the other. Do not omit any sin that you can remember. It may be helpful if you write out your sins on sheets of paper and then burn them after God has forgiven you. In doing so, you must be truly sorry for them, since they pierce God’s heart. Then, truly turn your back to and abandon your sinful ways. If you stole, steal no more. If you have been committing adultery or fornication, stop it. God will not forgive you if you have no desire to stop sinning in all the areas of your life; but if you are sincere, He will give you the power to stop.

BELIEVE that Jesus Christ, who is God’s Son, is the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6), and the Bible says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). If you believe this, you are also rejecting every other system or philosophy that suggests that a man can be reconciled to God outside of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you will want to receive Him, for, “As many as received him, he gave them the power to become the children of God” (John 1:12).

CONSIDER the cost of following Him. Jesus said that all who will follow Him must deny themselves. This includes selfish financial, social and other interests. He also wants His followers to take up their crosses and follow Him. Are you prepared to abandon your own interests daily for those of Christ? Are you prepared to be led in new directions by Him? Are you prepared to suffer for Him and die for Him if need be? Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace but a sword … and a man’s enemies shall be they of his household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:34-38).

This is very costly, but God’s gifts – peace, joy, eternal life, etc, are far greater than whatever it may cost you. You do well to choose Him. Jesus will have nothing to do with half-hearted people. He demands a total commitment. He will only receive and forgive those who are prepared to follow Him AT ANY COST.

Think about it and count the cost. If you are prepared to follow Him come what may, then there is something you must DO.

Invite Jesus to come into your heart and life. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any one hears my voice and opens the door (to his heart and life) I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Why not pray a prayer like this one, or another one as the Holy Spirit leads you?

“Lord Jesus, I am a wretched, lost sinner who has sinned in thought, word and deed. Forgive me all my sins and cleanse me. Receive me, Saviour, and transform me into a child of God. Come into my heart now and give me eternal life. I will follow You at all cost, trusting Your Holy Spirit to give me all the power that I need. Amen.”

If you have prayed the above prayer sincerely, then Jesus has forgiven you and made you God’s child right away. He has blotted out all your sins and forgotten the fact that you ever sinned (Hebrews 10:16-17). You have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13). You are born again; you are an entirely new creature and the past is gone (2 Corinthians 5:17). You are saved (Romans 10:9).

Rejoice in your new position before God. Thank Him for His marvellous love, forgiveness, salvation, etc. Begin at once to tell other people about your new life in Jesus AND WRITE TO ME AT ONCE (ztfbooks@cmfionline.org). I SHALL PRAY FOR YOU AND, IF POSSIBLE, SEND SOMEONE TO COME AND ENCOURAGE YOU.